A Day Late

March 16, 2004

The Russian government has ordered a book about marijuana to be pulled from bookstores, triggering charges of censorship. It may already be too late: nearly all the copies have been sold out. But it appears that the censorship affects other books as well.

But “Marijuana, the Forbidden Medicine” was not the only book targeted, the publishing house said. Kormiltsev said the Anti-Drug Service, without legal grounds, told the book distribution company Stolitsa-Service to pull two other drug-themed books published by Ultra Kultura, and that the Federal Security Service had made similar recommendations regarding four Ultra Kultura books on terrorism, including the Russian translation of Adam Parfrey’s “Extreme Islam,” or “Allah Dislikes America” in Russian.